The place of the possible

Investing to grow

Wellington can be a world-class city where talent wants to live

Cities like Wellington compete on the global stage. We compete with other city regions to attract people, students, jobs, businesses, trade and investment. Without ongoing investment and improvements to the city, we will lose our comparative advantage as an attractive place for skilled migrants and businesses.

Our recently adopted Long-term Plan outlines a strong investment programme that will position Wellington and its communities for a stronger and more prosperous future.

Wellington has the best educated, most creative and tech-savvy people in New Zealand, high quality tertiary institutions, lots of smart businesses, and a great culture.

We also have all the lifestyle requirements, natural beauty, compactness, a creative vibe, open attitudes, and a quiet ambition that makes anything possible.

Even though our economy hasn’t performed as strongly as some other cities, Wellington has a clear vision that neatly encapsulates its strengths and values and will position it well for the future as a city that is sustainable, dynamic, connected and people–centred.

To become this city, we need a stronger economy and a growing ratepayer base. The stronger the economy, the faster the ratepayer base grows. The faster the ratepayer base grows, the more we can invest in the city.

In the past 10 years, the Council has invested in city infrastructure and services for the community.

While the key spending priority has been on infrastructure, there have been big increases in spending on community sport and recreation facilities, tourism promotion and events.

The Council’s financial position is strong and we have the opportunity and resources to do more, if we choose to. We have an AA credit rating with Standard and Poor's, our rates are not as high as many of our neighbours and we have relatively low debt.

By basing our investment strategy on these factors, we can:

retain our high quality of life and excellent services

achieve a real transformation of Wellington’s economy, create opportunities for future investment, jobs for our people and improved quality of life.

establishing the Wellington Economic Initiative Development (WEID) Fund and investing in Destination Wellington

​reducing development contributions.

We will also work with others over the coming years to make the city’s transport system more efficient, by prioritising public transport, investing in new cycleways and walkways, and reducing bottlenecks on the road network.

We are maintaining existing levels of service for pools, recreation centres, sports fields and other Council-funded facilities. Our focus is on accommodating demand within existing facilities where possible, as we want to make use of the capacity in the community facilities we have already invested in, before we face the expense of adding more. In line with this broad strategy, we have allocated additional funding to support school pools in their operations to ensure they are of a good standard and well-utilised by the community.

We will also continue to work towards, and have allocated additional resources to, ending homelessness and including the most vulnerable citizens in city life.

Our future programme includes projects aimed at growing the local economy, including:

a convention centre

a film museum to celebrate Wellington’s film sector and attract international tourists

an airport runway extension to provide direct flights to Asia and beyond